Howdidwecometogososoon？”
“Well，we’llhavetohaveatalkoverallthis。”saidJimwithasuddenstart。“Ishouldbegettingtomybooks；andIguessyouhadbettergouprightawaytoMamie。She’satSpeedy’s。Sheexpectsyouwithimpatience。Sheregardsyouinthelightofafavouritebrother，Loudon。”
Anyschemewaswelcomewhichallowedmetopostponethehourofexplanation，andavoidwereitonlyforabreathingspacethetopicoftheFlyingScud。IhastenedaccordinglytoBushStreet。Mrs。Speedy，alreadyrejoicinginthereturnofaspouse，hailedmewithacclamation。“Andit’sbeautifulyou’relooking，Mr。Dodd，mydear。”shewaskindenoughtosay。
“Andamiracletheynaygurwaheeniesletyelavetheoilands。I
havemysuspicionsofShpeedy。”sheadded，roguishly。“Didyeseehimafterthenaygressesnow？”
IgaveSpeedyanunblemishedcharacter。
“Theoneofyewillniverbethraytheother。”saidtheplayfuldame，andusheredmeintoabareroom，whereMamiesatworkingatype-writer。
Iwastouchedbythecordialityofhergreeting。Withtheprettiestgestureintheworldshegavemebothherhands；
wheeledforthachair；andproduced，fromacupboard，atinofmyfavouritetobacco，andabookofmyexclusivecigarettepapers。
“There！”shecried；“yousee，Mr。Loudon，wewereallpreparedforyou；thethingswereboughttheverydayyousailed。”
Iimaginedshehadalwaysintendedmeapleasantwelcome；
butthecertainfervourofsincerity，whichIcouldnothelpremarking，flowedfromanunexpectedsource。CaptainNares，withakindnessforwhichIcanneverbesufficientlygrateful，hadstolenamomentfromhisoccupations，driventocallonMamie，anddrawnheragenerouspictureofmyprowessatthewreck。Shewascarefulnottobreatheawordofthisinterview，tillshehadledmeontotellmyadventuresformyself。
“Ah！CaptainNareswasbetter。”shecried，whenIhaddone。
“Fromyouraccount，Ihaveonlylearnedonenewthing，thatyouaremodestaswellasbrave。”
IcannottellwithwhatsortofdisclamationIsoughttoreply。
“Itisofnouse。”saidMamie。“Iknowahero。AndwhenI
heardofyouworkingalldaylikeacommonlabourer，withyourhandsbleedingandyournailsbroken——andhowyoutoldthecaptainto’crackon’Ithinkhesaidinthestorm，whenhewasterrifiedhimself——andthedangerofthathorridmutiny“——
Nareshadbeenobliginglydippinghisbrushinearthquakeandeclipse——“andhowitwasalldone，inpartatleast，forJimandme——Ifeltwecouldneversayhowweadmiredandthankedyou。”
“Mamie。”Icried，“don’ttalkofthanks；itisnotawordtobeusedbetweenfriends。JimandIhavebeenprosperoustogether；nowweshallbepoortogether。We’vedoneourbest，andthat’sallthatneedbesaid。Thenextthingisformetofindasituation，andsendyouandJimupcountryforalongholidayintheredwoods——foraholidayJimhasgottohave。”
“Jimcan’ttakeyourmoney，Mr。Loudon。”saidMamie。
“Jim？”criedI。“He’sgotto。Didn’tItakehis？”
Presentlyafter，Jimhimselfarrived，andbeforehehadyetdonemoppinghisbrow，hewasatmewiththeaccursedsubject。
“Now，Loudon。”saidhe，“herewearealltogether，theday’sworkdoneandtheeveningbeforeus；juststartinwiththewholestory。”
“Onewordonbusinessfirst。”saidI，speakingfromthelipsoutward，andmeanwhileintheprivateapartmentsofmybraintryingforthethousandthtimetofindsomeplausiblearrangementofmystory。“Iwanttohaveanotionhowwestandaboutthebankruptcy。”
“O，that’sancienthistory。”criedJim。“Wepaidsevencents，andawonderwedidaswell。Thereceiver——“methoughtaspasmseizedhimatthenameofthisofficial，andhebrokeoff。
“Butit’sallpastanddonewithanyway；andwhatIwanttogetatisthefactsaboutthewreck。Idon’tseemtounderstandit；
appearstomelikeastherewassomethingunderneath。”
“TherewasnothingINit，anyway。”Isaid，withaforcedlaugh。
“That’swhatIwanttojudgeof。”returnedJim。
“HowthemischiefisitIcanneverkeepyoutothatbankruptcy？Itlooksasifyouavoidedit。”saidI——foramaninmysituation，withunpardonablefolly。
“Don’titlookalittleasifyouweretryingtoavoidthewreck？”
askedJim。
Itwasmyowndoing；therewasnoretreat。“Mydearfellow，ifyoumakeapointofit，heregoes！”saidI，andlaunchedwithspuriousgaietyintothecurrentofmytale。Itolditwithpointandspirit；describedtheislandandthewreck，mimickedAndersonandtheChinese，maintainedthesuspense。Mypenhasstumbledonthefatalword。Imaintainedthesuspensesowellthatitwasneverrelieved；andwhenIstopped——Idarenotsayconcluded，wheretherewasnoconclusion——IfoundJimandMamieregardingmewithsurprise。
“Well？”saidJim。
“Well，that’sall。”saidI。
“Buthowdoyouexplainit？”heasked。
“Ican’texplainit。”saidI。
Mamiewaggedherheadominously。
“But，greatCaesar’sghost！themoneywasoffered！”criedJim。
“Itwon’tdo，Loudon；it’snonsense，onthefaceofit！Idon’tsaybutwhatyouandNaresdidyourbest；I’msure，ofcourse，youdid；butIdosay，yougotfooled。Isaythestuffisinthatshipto-day，andIsayImeantogetit。”
“Thereisnothingintheship，Itellyou，butoldwoodandiron！”
saidI。
“You’llsee。”saidJim。“NexttimeIgomyself。I’lltakeMamieforthetrip；Longhurstwon’trefusemetheexpenseofaschooner。YouwaittillIgetthesearchingofher。”
“Butyoucan’tsearchher！”criedI。“She’sburned。”
“Burned！”criedMamie，startingalittlefromtheattitudeofquiescentcapacityinwhichshehadhithertosattohearme，herhandsfoldedinherlap。
Therewasanappreciablepause。
“Ibegyourpardon，Loudon。”beganJimatlast，“butwhyinsnakesdidyouburnher？”
“ItwasanideaofNares’s。”saidI。
“Thisiscertainlythestrangestcircumstanceofall。”observedMamie。
“Imustsay，Loudon，itdoesseemkindofunexpected。”addedJim。“Itseemskindofcrazyeven。Whatdidyou——whatdidNaresexpecttogainbyburningher？”
“Idon’tknow；itdidn’tseemtomatter；wehadgotalltherewastoget。”saidI。
“That’stheverypoint。”criedJim。“Itwasquiteplainyouhadn’t。”
“Whatmadeyousosure？”askedMamie。
“HowcanItellyou？”Icried。“Wehadbeenallthroughher。
WeWEREsure；that’sallthatIcansay。”
“Ibegintothinkyouwere。”shereturned，withasignificantemphasis。
Jimhurriedlyintervened。“WhatIdon’tquitemakeout，Loudon，isthatyoudon’tseemtoappreciatethepeculiaritiesofthething。”saidhe。“Itdoesn’tseemtohavestruckyousameasitdoesme。”
“Pshaw！whygoonwiththis？”criedMamie，suddenlyrising。
“Mr。Doddisnottellinguseitherwhathethinksorwhatheknows。”
“Mamie！”criedJim。
“Youneednotbeconcernedforhisfeelings，James；heisnotconcernedforyours。”returnedthelady。“Hedarenotdenyit，besides。Andthisisnotthefirsttimehehaspractisedreticence。Haveyouforgottenthatheknewtheaddress，anddidnottellityouuntilthatmanhadescaped？”
Jimturnedtomepleadingly——wewereallonourfeet。
“Loudon。”hesaid，“youseeMamiehassomefancy；andImustsaythere’sjustasortofashadowofanexcuse；foritIS
bewildering——eventome，Loudon，withmytrainedbusinessintelligence。ForGod’ssake，clearitup。”
“Thisservesmeright。”saidI。“Ishouldnothavetriedtokeepyouinthedark；IshouldhavetoldyouatfirstthatIwaspledgedtosecrecy；Ishouldhaveaskedyoutotrustmeinthebeginning。ItisallIcandonow。Thereismoreofthestory，butitconcernsnoneofus，andmytongueistied。Ihavegivenmywordofhonour。Youmusttrustmeandtrytoforgiveme。”
“IdaresayIamverystupid，Mr。Dodd。”beganMamie，withanalarmingsweetness，“butIthoughtyouwentuponthistripasmyhusband’srepresentativeandwithmyhusband’smoney？
Youtellusnowthatyouarepledged，butIshouldhavethoughtyouwerepledgedfirstofalltoJames。Yousayitdoesnotconcernus；wearepoorpeople，andmyhusbandissick，anditconcernsusagreatdealtounderstandhowwecometohavelostourmoney，andwhyourrepresentativecomesbacktouswithnothing。Youaskthatweshouldtrustyou；youdonotseemtounderstand；thequestionweareaskingourselvesiswhetherwehavenottrustedyoutoomuch。”
“Idonotaskyoutotrustme。”Ireplied。“IaskJim。Heknowsme。”
“YouthinkyoucandowhatyoupleasewithJames；youtrusttohisaffection，doyounot？Andme，Isuppose，youdonotconsider。”saidMamie。“Butitwasperhapsanunfortunatedayforyouwhenweweremarried，forIatleastamnotblind。Thecrewrunaway，theshipissoldforagreatdealofmoney，youknowthatman’saddressandyouconcealit，youdonotfindwhatyouweresenttolookfor，andyetyouburntheship；andnow，whenweaskexplanations，youarepledgedtosecrecy！
ButIampledgedtonosuchthing；Iwillnotstandbyinsilenceandseemysickandruinedhusbandbetrayedbyhiscondescendingfriend。Iwillgiveyouthetruthforonce。Mr。
Dodd，youhavebeenboughtandsold。”
“Mamie。”criedJim，“nomoreofthis！It’smeyou’restriking；
it’sonlymeyouhurt。Youdon’tknow，youcannotunderstandthesethings。Why，to-day，ifithadn’tbeenforLoudon，I
couldn’thavelookedyouintheface。Hesavedmyhonesty。”
“Ihaveheardplentyofthistalkbefore。”shereplied。“Youareasweet-heartedfool，andIloveyouforit。ButIamaclear-
headedwoman；myeyesareopen，andIunderstandthisman’shypocrisy。Didhenotcomehereto-dayandpretendhewouldtakeasituation——pretendhewouldsharehishard-earnedwageswithusuntilyouwerewell？Pretend！Itmakesmefurious！
Hiswages！ashareofhiswages！Thatwouldhavebeenyourpittance，thatwouldhavebeenyourshareoftheFlyingScud——youwhoworkedandtoiledforhimwhenhewasabeggarinthestreetsofParis。Butwedonotwantyourcharity；
thankGod，Icanworkformyownhusband！Seewhatitistohaveobligedagentleman。Hewouldletyoupickhimupwhenhewasbegging；hewouldstandandlookon，andletyoublackhisshoes，andsneeratyou。ForyouwerealwayssneeringatmyJames；youalwayslookeddownuponhiminyourheart，youknowit！”SheturnedbacktoJim。“Andnowwhenheisrich。”shebegan，andthenswoopedagainonme。“Foryouarerich，Idareyoutodenyit；Idefyyoutolookmeinthefaceandtrytodenythatyouarerich——richwithourmoney——myhusband’smoney——“
Heavenknowstowhataheightshemighthaverisen，being，bythistime，bodilywhirledawayinherownhurricaneofwords。
Heart-sickness，ablackdepression，atreacheroussympathywithmyassailant，pityunutterableforpoorJim，alreadyfilled，divided，andabashedmyspirit。Flightseemedtheonlyremedy；andmakingaprivatesigntoJim，asiftoaskpermission，Islunkfromtheunequalfield。
Iwasbutalittlewaydownthestreet，whenIwasarrestedbythesoundofsomeonerunning，andJim’svoicecallingmebyname。Hehadfollowedmewithaletterwhichhadbeenlongawaitingmyreturn。